Archery bow with unobstructed sight window

ABSTRACT

A bow including a rigid metal elongated member having limbs attached to each end thereof so that the axes of the limbs lie generally in a common plane and the central member is offset laterally from said plane to provide an unobstructed view of the target area and a pistol-grip type handle affixed to the central member and lying generally in the common plane.

O United States Patent [111 3,566,853

[72] Inventor Kenneth O.Larm 3,040,728 6/1962 Nieman 124/24 7200Pleasant Ave. South, Minneapolis, 3,412,725 11/1968 124/30 Minn. 554233,491,739 1/1970 124/23 [21] A N 365,370 2,665,679 1/1954 Gaskell 124/24[22] Filed Oct. 10, 1969 FOREIGN PATENTS [451 Patented Mar-2,1971747,692 12/1966 Canada 124/23 Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham [54]ARCHERY BOW WITH UNOBSTRUCTED SIGHT Assistant Examiner-William R. BrowneWINDOW Atrorney-Merchant & Gould 8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

[ 1 1 ABSTRACT: A bow including a rigid metal elongated [50] memberhaving limbs attached to each end thereof so that the 41, 30 axes of thelimbs lie generally in a common plane and the central member is offsetlaterally from said plane to provide an [56] References cuedunobstructed view of the target area and a pistol-grip type UNITEDSTATES PATENTS handle affixed to the central member and lying generallyin 2,714,377 8/1955 Mulkey 124/24 the common plane.

'PATENTED m 21971 3; 5 6; 853

INVENTOR. llama-r O. 4017M ARCHERY BOW WITH UNOBSTRUCTED SIGHT WINDOWBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention In archery, thebow is traditionally gripped lightly with one hand and the shaft of thearrow is placed on an arrow rest affixed to the side of the bowimmediately above the gripping hand. Because the portion of the bowwhich is being gripped lies generally in a common plane with the stringand the arrow, a substantial portion of the target area is obscured. Intournament shooting and the like where targets are apt to be placed atsubstantial distances from the archer and a plurality of targets, placedrelatively close together, are utilized, it is not uncommon for anarcher to become confused and shoot at the wrong target.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the prior art, many attempts havebeen made to produce bows with unobstructed views of the target area.However, in general these bows are unsatisfactory. One such prior artbow has a generally Z-shape with the limbs extending at a slight angleto the direction of the string (as viewed from the front or back) andthe handle portion of the bow extending somewhat transversely to thedirection of the string. This bow is unsatisfactory because a torque isproduced in the limbs and the limbs are extremely difficult tomanufacture, unless they are formed of metal or the like. Further, thearcher must alter his normal grip to compensate for the angle of thehandle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains to an improvedbow including a longitudinally extending base member having limbsaffixed thereto with the longitudinal axes of said limbs lying generallyin a common plane and a central portion of said base means offset fromsaid common plane to form an unobstructed sighting area with a handleaffixed to said central portion so as to lie generally in said commonplane and below said sighting area.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved bowhaving a substantially unobstructed sighting area.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedbow which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedbow having a handle thereon which can be altered to fit the grip of thearcher without affecting the characteristics of the bow.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedbow with replaceable limbs so that the basic structure can be utilizedfor a variety of purposes, such as hunting, indoor target shooting,outdoor target shooting, etc.

These and other objects of this invention will-become apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon consideration of the accompanying specification,claims and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings, whereinlike characters indicate like parts throughout the FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of the improved bow, portions thereofremoved;

FIG. 2 is a view of the new bow in front elevation, portions thereofremoved;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view as seen from the line 3-3 ofFIG. 2;and

FIG. 4 is an exploded view illustrating the means of connecting thelimbs to the base member of the improved bow.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly tothe FIGS. the numeral generally designates a longitudinally extendingbase member which may be formed from any suitable rigid material havingthe required strength and in this embodiment is formed from tubularsteel. The base member 10 has elongated plates 11 and 12 affixed toopposite ends of the base member 10, by welding or the like, so as topresent slightly arcuate surfaces directed at an angle generally awayfrom the base member 10. The elongated plates 11 and 12 are positionedso that the longitudinal axes thereof lie in a common plane and the endsnearest each other converge while the extended ends are divergent.Referring to FIG. 1, it can be seen that the base member 10 extendingbetween the plates 11 and 12 is bent slightly forwardly at the centralportion thereof, designated by the number 13. Referring to FIG. 2, itcan be seen that the base member 10 extends in a generally arcuateconfiguration between the plates 11 and 12 so that the central portion13 is transversely offset from the common plane including thelongitudinal axes of the plates 11 and 12.

A pair of limbs 20 and 21, which may be formed of any suitable resilientmaterial and any desired shape in this embodiment are formed of glasslaminated onto wood, such as lemonwood or the like, in a manner wellknown to those skilled in the art and are provided with a slightlycurved portion adjacent one end thereof. The slightly curved ends of thelimbs 20 and 21 are positioned adjacent the outwardly directed surfacesof the plates 11 and 12, respectively, with pieces of resilientmaterial, such as neoprene, rubber, or the like, designated .22 and 23,respectively, sandwiches therebetween. Second pieces of material 24 and25, similar to the pieces 22 and 23, are positioned on the outer surfaceof the limbs 20 and.2l and slightly arcuate shaped plates 26 and 27 arepositioned in overlying relationship thereon. Each of the plates 26 and27 and the pieces of material 22, 23, 23, and

25, and the plates 11 and 12 affixed to the base member 10 have pairs ofholes therethrough which are aligned to allow the insertion of bolts 28therethrough. The limbs 20 and 21 are clamped to the plates 11 and 12,respectively, so that the longitudinal axes thereof generally lie in thecommon plane including the longitudinal axes of the plates 11 and 12.Thus, the limbs 20 and 21 are clamped fixedly in position and are easilyremovable and replaceable with limbs which are new or have differentcharacteristics. Further, the pieces of resilient material 22, 23, 24and 25 reduce the amount of noise produced by the bow during shooting.

An irregularly shaped plate 30 is fixedly attached to the base member 10at the central portion 13 so as to extend transversely from the basemember 10 into and somewhat beyond the common plane including thelongitudinal axes of the limbs 20 and 21. With the bow held in theproper upright position the plate 30 is oriented generally horizontallyand a pistol-grip type handle 31 is affixed to the underside thereof soas to extend downwardly generally in the common plane including thelongitudinal axes of the limbs 20 and 21. The handle 31 may be removablyattached to the plate 30 so that a handle 31 which fits the grip of thearcher may be affixed to the bow. It should be noted that the handle 31and plate 30 do not affect the shooting'characteristics of the bow and,therefore, the handle 31 can be constructed sufficiently small toaccommodate substantially any hand with no adverse effects. As is wellknown in the art, prior art bows are built with the handle forming aportion of the bow and reducing the size of the handle greatly affectsthe characteristics of the bow.

A tubular element 35 is fixedly attached to the central portion 13 ofthe base member 10 so as to extend generally horizontally outwardlytherefrom in spaced relation above the plate 30. The element 35 hasinternal threads so that an arrow rest 36 can be threadedly engagedtherein. The arrow rest 36 includes a flat disc affixed to a threadedshaft so as to be oriented in a generally vertical direction parallelwith the common plane of the limbs-20 and 21 and a tab 37 is affixed tothe outwardly directed surface of the disc. The tab 37 extends angularlyoutwardly from the disc 36 and is adjustable so that the extended endthereof is spaced from the disc a distance slightly greater than thediameter of the arrows being used. During shooting the arrow rests onthe tab 37 and the disc 36 acts as a guide. The position of the disc 36relative to the common plane including the longitudinal axes of thelimbs and 21 is adjustable so that the bow will accommodate arrows witha variety of diameters corresponding with the characteristics of thelimbs affixed to the base member 10. For example, the archer may desirea hunting bow, in which case the limbs 20 and 21 will be constructed sothat the bow has a relatively large draw strength (such as 50 or 60pounds) and the arrows being used will have a larger diameter. If thearcher desires an indoor target bow the limbs will be constructed with amuch lower draw strength (such as to pounds) and the arrows will be of amuch smaller diameter.

The plate 30 is provided with a forwardly directed internally threadedopening in which a balancing weight can optionally be engaged. Thebalancing weight 40 can be provided with any desirable length of shaft,in the usual manner, to provide the bow with the desired weight andbalance. In addition, a forwardly directed loop 41 is formed in theplate 30, which loop 41 can be utilized to support the bow from ahanging hook or the like during nonuse. Because the base member 10 andthe plate 30 are formed of a relatively rigid material, such as steel orthe like, many other features can be conveniently provided withoutaffecting the characteristics of the bow. For example, in the presentembodiment a small forwardly directed knob 42 is affixed to the handle31 and is adapted to have a cord, strap, or the like, affixed theretoafter it is wrapped around the wrist of the archer, which cord or strapacts as a safety device to prevent the archer from dropping the bowduring shooting. It should be understood that all of these featuresaffixed to the plate 30 are optional, but are illustrated to provide anindication of the versatility and convenience of the present bow.

Thus, an improved bow is described which is much simpler to manufacturesince the base member is formed of a metal or the like which can bequickly-and easily formed by machines, whereas, in the prior art thebase or central portion of bows is constructed solely of the samematerial as the limbs and much labor is needed to form the centralportion correctly. Further, because the base member of the present bowis formed of metal or the like many attachments can be readily madewithout weakening the bow or altering the characteristics thereof. Inaddition to the above, the present bow is constructed with a largeunobstructed target viewing area which eliminates target errors and cangreatly improve the marksmanship of the archer. Further, the bow isconstructed so that a variety of limbs can be affixed thereto and avariety of arrows can be accommodated for various types of shooting,such as hunting, target shooting, etc.

I claim:

1. An improved bow comprising:

a. a longitudinally extending base means formed of relatively rigidmaterial;

b. a pair of elongated limbs formed of resilient material with a stringreceiving notch at one end of each of said limbs; a bow string;

0. means affixed to the ends of said base means for fixedly clamping oneend of each of said pair of limbs with the limbs extendinglongitudinally outwardly and the string receiving notches positioned atthe outermost ends of the limbs, said limbs lying generally in a commonplane formed by the bow limbs and said how string;

d. said base means having a generally central portion offset laterallyfrom the common plane forming an unobstructed sight area which is in thecommon plane; and

e. a handle affixed to and extending laterally outwardly of said offsetcentral portion of said base means and positioned to lie substantiallyin said common plane.

2. An improved bow as set forth in claim 1 wherein the handle includes aplate affixed to the central offset portion of said base means andextending generally transversely therefrom with a pistol grip affixed tothe lower side thereof and extendingadownwardly therefrom generally inthe common plane.

. An improved bow as set forth in claim 1 wherein the clamping meansincludes an outwardly directed surface adjacent each end of the basemember and second members having mating surfaces, said second membersbeing removably affixed to said base member with each limb sandwichedbetween one of said outwardly directed surfaces and the mating surface.

4. An improved bow as set forth in claim 3 including resilient strips ofmaterial sandwiched between each limb and the adjacent surfaces.

5. An improved bow as set forth in claim 1 wherein the base means isformed from steel.

6. An improved bow as set forth in claim 1 wh including an adjustablearrow rest affixed to the central portion of the base means andextending transversely into the common plane.

7. An improved bow as set froth in claim 1 including an adjustable arrowrest affixed to the offset portion of the base means.

8. An improved bow comprising:

a. a longitudinally extending base means formed of relatively rigidmaterial;

b. a pair of elongated limbs formed of resilient material with a stringreceiving notch at one end of each of said limbs;

c. a bow string;

d. each of said pair of limbs being fixedly attached to said means withthe limbs extending longitudinally outwardly and the string receivingnotches positioned at the outermost ends of the limbs, said limbs lyinggenerally in a common plane formed by the bow limbs and said bow string;

e. said base means having a generally central portion offset laterallyfrom the common plane and forming an unobstructed sight area which is inthe common plane; and

f. a handle affixed to and extending laterally outwardly of said offsetcentral portion of said base means and positioned to lie substantiallyin said common plane.

1. An improved bow comprising: a. a longitudinally extending base meansformed of relatively rigid material; b. a pair of elongated limbs formedof resilient material with a string receiving notch at one end of eachof said limbs; a bow string; c. means affixed to the ends of said basemeans for fixedly clamping one end of each of said pair of limbs withthe limbs extending longitudinally outwardly and the string receivingnotches positioned at the outermost ends of the limbs, said limbs lyinggenerally in a common plane formed by the bow limbs and said bow string;d. said base means having a generally central portion offset laterallyfrom the common plane forming an unobstructed sight area which is in thecommon plane; and e. a handle affixed to and extending laterallyoutwardly of said offset central portion of said base means andpositioned to lie substantially in said common plane.
 2. An improved bowas set forth in claim 1 wherein the handle includes a plate affixed tothe central offset portion of said base means and extending generallytransversely therefrom with a pistol grip affixed to the lower sidethereof and extending downwardly therefrom generally in the commonplane.
 3. An improved bow as set forth in claim 1 wherein the clampingmeans includes an outwardly directed surface adjacent each end of thebase member and second members having mating surfaces, said secondmembers being removably affixed to said base member with each limbsandwiched between one of said outwardly directed surfaces and themating surface.
 4. An improved bow as set forth in claim 3 includingresilient strips of material sandwiched between each limb and theadjacent surfaces.
 5. An improved bow as set forth in claim 1 whereinthe base means is formed from steel.
 6. An improved bow as set forth inclaim 1 wh including an adjustable arrow rest affixed to the centralportion of the base means and extending transversely into the commonplane.
 7. An improved bow as set froth in claim 1 including anadjustable arrow rest affixed to the offset portion of the base means.8. An improved bow comprising: a. a longitudinally extending base meansformed of relatively rigid material; b. a pair of elongated limbs formedof resilient material with a string receiving notch at one end of eachof said limbs; c. a bow string; d. each of said pair of limbs beingfixedly attached to said means with the limbs extending longitudinallyoutwardly and the string receiving notches positioned at the outermostends of the limbs, said limbs lying generally in a common plane formedby the bow limbs and said bow string; e. said base means having agenerally central portion offset laterally from the common plane andforming an unobstructed sight area which is in the common plane; and f.a handle affixed to and extending laterally outwardly of said offsetcentral portion of said base means and positioned to lie substantiallyin said common plane.